Deadwood

A member of the Bonsai Society of San Francisco, Samuel Tan, has taken an interest in juniper bonsai – especially deadwood work. Although relatively new to bonsai, Sam has picked up good tips from books like François Jeker’s Bonsai Deadwood and Cheng Cheng-Kung’s Bonsai Shari SiDiao. I was curious what information Sam had found most […]

I happened across some beautiful deadwood on a recent hike. Although carving deadwood features in bonsai is a popular pursuit, it can’t compete with the work produced by time and the elements. Convoluted twists on a dead trunk Dead branch Sculptural deadwood I’ll say more about the location – likely obvious to many of you […]

Earlier this week I heard a strange sound at a BIB workshop. It came from this thing. Moisture sensor John Thompson purchased the device to locate moisture that seeps through carpets but found that it can be used to detect lifelines too. Where there’s moisture, the device sounds. Where the wood has died, the machine […]

The most compelling aspects of bonsai are often out of our control. This is true for both deadwood and movement – a tree either has them or it doesn’t. While hand-carved deadwood and manufactured movement can be both beautiful and artistic, it’s hard to compete with nature. Branch on a dead lodge pole pine When […]

Although cleaning up deadwood can be painstaking work, the actual process is relatively simple. To prepare the procumbens juniper below for exhibit, I used toothbrush and water to scrub the deadwood and then rinsed away the debris. A few hours later, after the wood had a chance to dry, I painted lime-sulfur onto the deadwood. […]